Giorgi III of Georgia

Giorgi III of Georgia (2 January 1123-6 April 1184) was the King of Georgia from 1156 to 1184, succeeding Demetrius I of Georgia and preceding Tamari of Georgia.

Biography
Giorgi was born in 1123 to Demetrius I of Georgia, and he came from the House of Bagrationi, a dynasty of Orthodox Christian Georgians. During his reign, he went on an aggressive series of wars, including campaigns against the Seljuk Empire in Armenia in 1161-1162, taking Ani and Dvin. Armenian volunteers flocked to his cause to help in the liberation of their country, but in 1177 the nobles of the realm declared his nephew Prince Demetrius of Georgia as the rightful king. 30,000 rebels under Demetrius' father-in-law Orbeli were besieged at the citadel of Lore by Giorgi's royal army and forced to surrender, and Demetrius was blinded and castrated while most of his in-laws were murdered. Giorgi became co-king with his daughter Tamari of Georgia in 1178, and he died in 1184.